Getting married is meant to be one of the happiest days of your life. However, it can be stressful knowing where the venue is and who to invite.
Now a bride-to-be has shared her dilemma in the run-up to the big day. This time it is due to her aunt wanting to change a big element of the wedding.
The soon-to-be Mr and Mrs decided that they wanted a child-free wedding which is a common request nowadays.
Sharing her story on the online forum Reddit she shared the post: “My fiancé and I are getting married in a month, so we just sent out the invitations and are getting responses back.
“Early into the wedding planning, we decided we [would] make it 18+.”
Despite having distant relatives with children, she didn’t expect the request to be an issue.
She continued: “When we were sending out the save the dates, I made sure to address the envelopes to just the parents to make sure that there was no confusion. We are also doing all online RSVPs, so the guest has to type in their name and RSVP for themselves.
“When they type in their name, it will also come up with anyone they are at a party with. So, if a couple is RSVPing, one person can type in their name, and it will also give them the option to RSVP for their spouse or partner.”
It wasn’t just her aunt who had a problem with her having a child-free wedding, it was her mum too.
She added: “I explained to her that my fiancé and I are spending a lot of money on our wedding, and we are having it at a historic venue with a lot of items that can’t be replaced.
“We want parents to be able to relax and enjoy the evening with us. We are also having an open bar and we just do not believe that it is a place for children. She said she understood, and I thought this was behind us.”
But that’s not all, as this is where her aunt came into the situation.
“A few days ago, I got a text from my aunt on my mom’s side asking why she can’t RSVP for her two kids (who are 10 and eight).
“I replied back and apologised for the misunderstanding and informed her that we were actually having an adults-only wedding.”
Despite the explanation, she said her aunt tried to make her change her mind about the adult-only wedding.
“She told me if her kids can’t come, then she and her husband won’t be able to make it, and I said that I totally understand childcare can be difficult to find and there are no hard feelings if they can’t make it,” the woman added.
“A couple of minutes later, I got a call from my mum telling me I was being selfish and I should just let her bring them.
“I told her I couldn’t do that since we weren’t planning on paying for any kids’ meals and our caterer is also £100 [per] person whether it’s a child or an adult.
“I said that it’s too expensive and it’s also not fair to my fiancé’s family if I make exceptions for my family and not his. No one else has confronted me with concerns, and a lot of my friends who are getting married are also having an adults-only wedding, so I thought it was normal,” she said.
Even though there was pushback about the idea, she thought her aunt would be the most understanding.
The user added: “This aunt also had a child-free wedding that I was not invited to when I was four. Obviously, this isn’t in retaliation to that at all because I genuinely could not care less, but it is interesting that she found it okay for herself but not me.”
People took to the thread to share their thoughts about the situation and what she should do, with one person writing: “Such is life with children. Sometimes, the kids can be sick and tie you home to tend to them.
“Maybe you’ll get an invitation to a child-free wedding, and you’ll just have to put on your adult pants and accept that, for whatever reason, your children cannot attend.
“Either it is a child-free wedding, or it isn’t. And that is your call. Nobody gets a say in that. The couple getting married decides, and everyone else just goes with it.”
What do you think of a child-free wedding? Let us know in the comments.
